|
|
|
Freight Forwarder and 4PL |
|
|
|
|
|
Odd Jobs? Of Course We Can! |
|
|
Seariders Ships all Shapes and Sizes to All Places |
|
When the staff at Seariders Brokerage Corporation gets a call from a customer
who wants to know if their shipment can be managed, Seariders has the experience
and dedication to solve any puzzle. Animals, engine parts, or gelato, they get
it where it needs to go.
|
|
|
"
This business still provides exciting challenges.
Every day you have the opportunity to do something different.
That’s the fun part." |
|
|
|
Dan Barrett, Vice President, Seariders |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
www.seariders.com |
|
Freight Forwarder and 4PL |
Solution |
|
Magaya Cargo System |
|
|
Seariders Brokerage Corporation offers complete logistics services, including
cargo pickup, Customs documents, warehousing, cargo insurance, letters of
credit, and delivery via air, ocean, and ground transportation. They have
Foreign Trade Zone as well as Domestic warehousing in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida,
minutes from the Miami International Airport and South Florida Seaports. They
are licensed as an Indirect Air Carrier (IAC) and Ocean Transport Intermediary
(OTI).
|
|
|
|
Freight forwarder Seariders Brokerage Corporation needs to ship and track
commodities as small as a 0.5 mL syringe and as large as a 120-foot yacht.
But those items are typical. Consider shipping an elephant – or a dozen white
rhinos. When Seariders was asked to help ship 12 rhinos from Cape Town, South
Africa to Orlando, Florida, they had to think out every step of the process,
from the size of the animals, their comfort, and food. An adult white rhinoceros
weighs about 7,000 pounds and measures about 12 feet long and 6 feet high at the
shoulder. Seariders coordinated with the caretakers at origin, the loading crew
at the airport, the veterinarians who accompanied the rhinos on the plane, and
the FDA to approve the food the rhinos ate during transit.
To transport an elephant from Charleston, South Carolina to Spain, Seariders
secured a spot for him to travel via an ocean-going vessel.
“We have a reputation for taking on project that others don’t want,” said Dan
Barrett, Vice President of Seariders. “We do unique things and try to think
outside the box.”
Seariders has been in the freight forwarding business since the 1970s, with a
brief hiatus while the founder, Al Redlhammer, worked as the Director of
Development at Port Everglades. While working at the port, Mr. Redlhammer was
instrumental in creating the first Foreign Trade Zone in the state of Florida.
When Seariders wanted to expand its warehousing operations, they looked for a
new software program that could handle all the processes.
In 2009 they moved their offices and warehousing facility from Port Everglades
to new, larger location in Davie, Florida, with easy access to the highway and
within minutes of the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and the
seaport of Port Everglades. Mr. Barrett said that what attracted them to Magaya
software was it included all the features they needed in one package. The other
software program they were using would have required them to spend more to add
on a warehousing module.
Mr. Barrett downloaded the trial and tested it to see what it could do and
decided to buy.
“We wanted to have complete control of the process,” Mr. Barrett said. Since
Seariders offers complete logistics service, from pickup to storage and delivery
to their customers, they needed a complete software package. |
|
|
Seariders needed a software program that could handle their warehousing service,
all the logistics procedures for receiving and shipping, and Customs
requirements.
Their warehouse is 10,000 square feet with an “FTZ” section for bonded items
such as liquor. The bonded commodities are given identification numbers that are
entered in their Magaya Cargo System. These numbers help them sort lists of
commodity items and separate bonded commodities from other cargo.
 “I can create reports in Magaya to
show Customs my Foreign Trade Zone/Bonded inventory,” Mr. Barrett said.
The liquor is stored in the Foreign Trade Zone area until the customer places an
order. Then items are pulled and shipped. Seariders uses the Magaya Cargo System
for the whole process, from receiving to storage. The storage charges are
calculated and included into the invoices, along with the freight charges when
the cargo is released.
Other commodities they ship include medical supplies, food, beverages, scuba
gear and fish tanks for a university marine research department working in the
Bahamas, 50-foot water pumps to Egypt, and swimming pool equipment to a resort
in Nicaragua. Seariders has Haz-Mat certified employees on staff as well.
Mr. Barrett and his team also handle repair parts for cargo ships and cruise
ships called “vessel spares”. Items include maintenance equipment such as paint,
anchor rope, office supplies, medical supplies, goggles, and other items the
crew needs to perform workwhile at sea. Mr. Barrett explained the importance of
getting the right items in the container. “We create a loading guide to verify
all the items for the vessels because the vessels are only in port for a few
hours. We make sure what they ordered is what is loaded.”
Seariders ships vehicles, including cars, trucks, motorcycles, and boats. The
largest boat they shipped was a 120-foot Broward Yacht from Florida to the
Middle East on the deck of a larger ship.
Seariders’ sales agents maintain relationships with local auto dealerships to
inform customers who buy cars and want to ship them. “Our overseas agent in
Sweden is very active in the car trade and visits here regularly. We also have a
Swedish employee, which makes it easier for people vacationing from Sweden who
buy a car and want to send it back to Sweden. We talk with them about their
shipping needs. Word of mouth about our service level has helped people know us
and what we can do.”
Most of the cars are shipped in containers, instead of Roll On/Roll Off (RORO)
because customers often want to include other cargo items with the car such as
extra tires, which you cannot do with RORO, Mr. Barrett explained. “We advise
customers on the best option by asking them if they have other items to ship in
addition to the vehicle.”
Locations they ship to include Europe, especially Sweden, The Netherlands, and
other northern European countries, Central and South America, the Middle East,
as well as other parts of the world. |
|
|
Seariders is a family-owned business with three generations working. The
founder, Mr. Redlhammer, is still involved in the daily business. His daughter,
Patti Barrett, manages the import department and the import accounting. Mrs.
Barrett and Mr. Redlhammer are licensedCustoms brokers. The Barrett’s daughter,
Jessica, also works at the company in Operations. Their business is split 50/50
between imports and exports. For their export shipments, they process the
Customs documents with the Automated Export System (AES) feature in the Magaya
Cargo System.
Seariders believes in the value of information. They provide a lot of
information on their website about their company and services, including a link
to their company’s Facebook page which has photographs of many different
shipments they have handled, and photos showing how they load cars and other
vehicles into containers.
Seariders owns four trucks for local pickup and delivery. They use Magaya
software for all the trucking, warehousing, and exporting procedures, including
the related accounting charges.
Seariders is a member of the Global Logistics Association (GLA). Mr. Barrett
served as the association president for three years and on the board of
directors. The GLA is an international network of small and medium-size freight
forwarders and customs brokers. They meet in a different part of the world each
year. In 2011, the GLA is meeting in Brazil.
Mr. Barrett enjoys traveling and meeting with customers and agents. “This
business still provides exciting challenges. Every day you have the opportunity
to do something different. That’s the fun part.”
Speaking about the future direction of Seariders, Mr. Barrett said, “Magaya is
going to help us tremendously as we move to the next level. We plan to add pick
and pack services this year. What I like about Magaya is it can grow with me.” |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recommend Us by Email
Send this page to a friend
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
